At the age of thirteen, Birmingham, Alabama’s Cleo Kennedy became both a singer and a foot soldier in the Civil Rights Movement. She served as a featured soloist in the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights Choir, whose music fueled the mass meetings at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. During the historic marches of 1963, she was arrested and […]
Mary Pugh was born in Allen, Alabama (Clarke County) to the late Odell and Clara Mae Pugh. She is the third of seven siblings. Growing up, Mary was raised on tough principles and a life of holiness, which resulted in a solid foundation in the Word of God. Her parents set a powerful example by […]
Mary Elaine Hudson was born in February 1957 in Camden, Wilcox County, Alabama the poorest county in the USA; her family moved to Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama when she was 10 months old. At the age of three, after watching the performers on The Lawrence Welch Show Elaine dreamt of becoming a singing star who […]
Auguster Maul, Sr. was born on February 17, 1932, to Texanna and Leonard Maul, Sr. in Selma, Alabama. He realized his calling when he opened his mouth at the early age of 9 years, and there resounded a beautiful gift of song ministry that only God could have bestowed upon him. After years of singing praises […]
In 1969, at age 13, Sanders joined a Southern gospel quartet playing drums and recorded 3 albums. Then in 1974, at age 18, Sanders joined a contemporary Christian group, The New Life Singers, to play drums. This allowed him the opportunity to travel to Washington DC, the Bahamas and just about everywhere in between. The […]
The 8th Annual Alabama Music Awards Lifetime Achievement winner, Roscoe Robinson was born May 22, 1928 and currently resides in Birmingham, AL. His career spans several decades and has brought him acclaim in both gospel and R&B genres. Roscoe Robinson is one of the last of the great long serving ‘shout singers’. Robinson combines a […]
Country Boy Eddy – known as Gordon Edward Burns to locals – started his road to entertainment at the age of 13 when he would go door to door selling garden seeds to local farmers. The money he made went towards something that would become synonymous with him throughout his career – a fiddle. After […]
LeNard Brown is an internationally known producer, writer, arranger and entrepreneur. He is one of the original members of the famous American soul & R & B vocal group called The Controllers originally part of an eight-member gospel group, the group became four in number and was made up of: LeNard Brown, Ricky Lewis, Larry […]
Born in Ft. Payne, Alabama, Jeff Cook has been playing lead guitar and keyboard since the age of thirteen. Securing a broadcast license three days after his fourteenth birthday, Jeff went to work as Host and DJ of The Jeff Cook Experience at a local radio station. The “broadcast bug” got into Jeff’s blood and […]
Founder and President, Mattie C. Stewart Foundation; Founder, o2ideas Shelley Stewart of Birmingham, Alabama overcame impoverished beginnings and family tragedies as a child to eventually become one of Birmingham’s best-known radio personalities and one of America’s most prominent African American businessmen and philanthropists. His broadcasting career began in 1949 as a local radio personality. The […]
